Urea Phosphite Fertilizer

ABSTRACT

A new fertilizer comprising Urea Phosphite, which is made by reacting phosphorous acid with urea. Urea Phosphite is characterized by being a liquid produced in an unprocessed reaction, and by having phosphite as a phosphorus source and urea as a nitrogen source. The reaction product may be blended with an admix and spray dried, or dissolved in water.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/284,393, filed Sep. 22, 2008, pending, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 8,101,548, issued Jan. 24, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to new chemical compositions of matter havingutility as industrial chemicals, fertilizers, and, fungicides. Thisinvention particularly relates to Urea Phosphite.

2. Description of Relevant Art

In greenhouses, nurseries, and, gardens, or other intensive horticultureenvironments, best results are attained when fertilizers and pesticidesare carefully delivered to the soil or growing plants. Many growerschoose to utilize blended high analysis water-soluble fertilizers andfungicides. These fertilizers and fungicides are marketed as liquids orsolids, which are dissolved or diluted, to prepare concentrated stocksolutions; these fertilizer/fungicide solutions may again then bediluted by irrigation water by means of proportional or injectiondevices.

In agriculture most excellent results are also achieved when fertilizersand pesticides are carefully delivered to the soil or growing plants.Many growers choose to utilize blended high analysis water-solublefertilizers and fungicides. These fertilizers and fungicides aremarketed either as solids or liquids; the fertilizers and/or fungicidesare dissolved in spray tanks for foliar applications, or are used toprepare concentrated stock solutions for ground application.

It is also desired that a fertilizer and fungicide formulations havegood long-term stability as stock solutions so as not to formprecipitates, which can clog spray rigs, proportioners, and irrigationlines. This has been a limitation with water-soluble fertilizer andfungicide formulations commercially available.

Mineral salts are important nutrients which are called for in many plantnutrition formulations, but mineral salts cannot be used together withthe conventional phosphorus sources. For instance, ammonium andpotassium phosphates in solution alter the pH and do not allow adequatesolubility to mineral salt ions, giving rise to precipitation of themineral salts in the stock solution which clog equipment.

Potassium phosphate or sodium phosphate can be used as solublephosphorous sources but these can be expensive or not conducive to plantgrowth. Phosphoric acid can be used but it is a liquid, hazardous tohandle, and toxic to plants. Therefore, a grower wishing to fertilizewith both mineral salts and phosphorus, without resorting to the use ofan alkali metal or ammonium phosphate, or liquid phosphoric acid, willneed to inject these compounds separately.

Additionally, the use of chelated trace nutrients have been widelypostulated in order to keep these trace nutrients dissolved in stocksolutions that contain the ammonium and potassium phosphates. Ifnon-chelated mineral salts are added with the conventional phosphorussources, the phosphate minerals will precipitate from the solution.Chelated minerals increase the cost of the fertilizer and fungicideformulations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns new fertilizer and/or fungicide compositions; Ihave found liquid and solid fertilizer and fungicide compositions usefulfor preparing aqueous solutions and fertilizer solids for plantnutrition and plant fungicides.

The present invention employs Urea Phosphite as a liquid for fertilizerand fungicide formulations. Until now Urea Phosphite was an unknownmaterial.

Urea Phosphite is an improved concentrated material for use as afertilizer and fungicide, the urea phosphite, which dissolves completelyin water, or, form solids in the presence of other materials, to give anitrogen and phosphorus-containing substance, has now been produced.This fertilizer and/or fungicide is characterized by being a liquidproduced in an unprocessed reaction, and by having phosphite as aphosphorus source and urea as a nitrogen source.

The present invention generally relates to a new composition of matterand to uses for that composition. These uses include agricultural,industrial, and commercial uses of these compounds. More specifically,the present invention is directed to the reaction product formed byreacting phosphorous acid crystals (a solid) with urea (a solid) to formthe new compound Urea Phosphite (a concentrated liquid), to methods forconducting that reaction, and to uses of the reaction product. Thepresent invention is directed to uses for new compositions of mattercomprising the reaction product of a phosphorous acid and a urea,including substituted ureas such as the thioureas and phenylureas. Thereaction products, which are non-hydrous or essentially nonhydrous, maybe separated, blended with an admix and spray dried, or dissolved inwater.

Urea, being approximately 46% by weight nitrogen, has long beenpreferred as a nitrogen source for fertilizing soils to stimulate plantgrowth. Phosphorous acid, being approximately 86.5% by weight P₂O₅, andits salts, have been used as a fungicide and a fertilizer. Urea,phosphorus acid and urea phosphite are compared in Table I below.

TABLE I Solubility Compound MW MP ° C. (g/100 ml) Density Phosphorousacid 82 73.6 309 1.651 Urea 60.06 135 100 1.32 Urea phosphite 142.06 0Infinite 1.4

Often time's fertilizer and fungicides are used with buffers. Thebuffering prevents the alkaline hydrolysis of insecticides, fungicides,and herbicides, therefore, insuring greater efficacy to their pesticideapplications. Urea Phosphite will serve as an excellent low pH buffer,thereby protecting the applicator's pesticide investment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Urea undergoes a reaction with phosphorous acids. These products havenot been known until now. The agricultural industry has felt the needfor ways to protect plants from fungal attack, improve early seedlingvigor, and to increase plant biomass, all resulting in improved yieldand quality. There has been a long felt but unfulfilled need in theindustry for improved methods for achieving these goals. The presentinvention works to solve those needs.

Being a clear colorless liquid with low moisture content this inventionallows producers to deliver a high analysis and concentrated fertilizersand fungicides. When the urea phosphite is compared to other liquidproducts the urea phosphite will be substantially less expensive tomanufacture, transport, ship, store and warehouse, package, and deliverto end-users than many if not all prior art products.

In a preferred embodiment phosphorous acid is reacted with urea in amolar ratio of about 1:1 to produce Urea Phosphite. While the reactionmay be conducted at any temperature between about 15° C. and about 140°C., it is preferably conducted within the range of about 15° C. to about100° C. The reaction may conveniently be conducted at room temperature.Preferably the reactants are stirred until the reaction mixture isclear, indicating that the liquid reaction product has formed. Thisproduct may be dissolved in water, packaged as is, or blended with anadmix to produce liquids and solids, or further compounded/reacted withan admix and spray dried.

The reaction product of the present invention, most preferably UreaPhosphite, will be found to produce enhanced growth in plants when usedin a variety of ways. The reaction product Urea Phosphite will produceenhanced growth when applied to seeds or soil prior to or at planting,when applied to the soil surrounding the plant at or after planting orwhen applied to the foliage of the plant. Alternatively, a solution ordry matter of Urea Phosphite may be applied to the soil surrounding theseed and/or emerging plant. All application methods will deliverfertilization and fungal protection.

When applying Urea Phosphite to foliage, those skilled in the art mayinclude a conventional admix in the solution to improve the retention ofreaction product on the leaves so that the plant may more readily absorbit.

Solutions containing mineral salts or non-chelated micronutrient tracemetals, such as: calcium, magnesium, cobalt, iron, manganese, copper,boron, zinc and molybdenum, may be made available to the plant bydissolving them completely in water with urea phosphite withoutprecipitate formation initially or upon prolonged standing, such as for24 hours or longer. In one embodiment, this invention provides a mineralsalts-containing solid complex fertilizer and fungicide, which dissolvescompletely in water to give a water-based precipitate-free, stableaqueous stock solution. A liquid fertilizer and/or fungicide containingUrea Phosphite will provide phosphite as a phosphorus and urea as anitrogen source for plant protection and nutrition.

In another embodiment, this invention provides a trace metal-containingsolid blended fertilizer and/or fungicide that dissolves completely inwater to give a water-based, precipitate free, stable aqueous stocksolution.

In another embodiment, this invention provides a fertilizer and/orfungicide containing urea phosphite as a phosphorus source and chelated,partially chelated, complexed, or non-chelated micronutrient trace metalnitrates, chlorides, carbonates, oxides or sulfate salts. This materialmay contain magnesium and/or calcium as well. It also may contain anymineral salt.

In still another embodiment, this invention provides a method forpreparing a stable phosphorus-containing fertilizer and fungicide withan admix. Please see the text below for the Discussion of PossibleAdmixes. For aqueous stock solutions this method involves blending oradding a fertilizer and fungicide admix to Urea Phosphite. For blendedliquid and solid fertilizer and fungicide products this method includescompounding or blending an admix with the liquid urea phosphite. Thesesame general processes can be used to prepare a non-chelated mineralsalt blended with the urea phosphite containing fertilizer andfungicide.

The inclusion of Urea Phosphite in a dry blended mixture of nutrientsources which include calcium salts, and/or magnesium, with or withouttrace metals such as iron and the like in non-chelated forms such asnitrates and/or sulfates offers several advantages. For one, the UreaPhosphite establishes a low pH condition when the blended mixture isadded to water to make a concentrated stock solution. A stock solutionpH in the range of 0 to 2 may be achieved. This low solution pHmaintains solubility and clarity of the concentrated stock solution.Urea Phosphite, by the effect it has on solution pH, prevents theformation of mineral salts of phosphite that are not soluble.

Similarly, the low pH helps prevent mineral salts from precipitating inthe presence of sulfate ions, which may be present. Therefore, when UreaPhosphite is used as a phosphorus source, it will make possible theinclusion of phosphorus and the mineral salts in one compound fertilizerand/or fungicide, without the use of chelates, or the disadvantage of aprecipitate forming.

This allows the end user to prepare and apply a complete fungicidaland/or nutrient solution using one stock solution and utilizing oneinjector. It also makes possible the inclusion of non-chelated tracenutrients into phosphorous-containing nutrient solutions withoutprecipitation. It also allows the fertilizer and fungicide solution tohave an increased acidifying effect on the growing medium if needed. Insummary, the advantages of using Urea Phosphite as a phosphorus sourcein a compound fertilizer and/or fungicide are:

-   -   The ability to purchase, prepare and apply a complete fungicidal        and/or nutrient solution with one stock solution.    -   The ability to use non-chelated mineral salts without a        reduction in solubility in the stock solution as is observed        using conventional dry phosphorus sources.    -   The ability to formulate acidic fertilizer and/or fungicides        that are sold as dry solids or liquids and thus are less        hazardous to the end user than liquid phosphoric acid-based        materials.

The fertilizer and fungicide compositions of this invention contain UreaPhosphite. The amount of Urea Phosphite will vary depending upon thenitrogen and phosphorous analysis desired for the formulatedcomposition. Typically, the Urea Phosphite is used with an Admix—thisincludes other nutrient sources. Since Urea Phosphite contributesnitrogen as well as phosphorus in a stoichiometric ratio to thefertilizer and fungicide mix it may be necessary to add additionalpotassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen sources to alter the ratio providedby Urea Phosphite alone.

The molar ratios between the urea and phosphorous acid are between 2:1and 1:2; an excess of either material may be present without interferingin the direct preparation of the liquid Urea Phosphite.

Of course, any suitable mixer system can be used and it is not necessarythat the mixing be done simultaneously with the onward conveying; thereactants may dwell in the mixer for a time and the entire product thenbe discharged from the mixer at once.

In order to improve the free-flowing properties of the Urea Phosphiteliquid, a common anti-caking agent such as amorphous silica, bentonite,flour, etc., may be added. The amount of the anti-caking agent is in theusual range utilized for this purpose such as between 1.50-3% by weight.

The process is very simple to carry out; after mixing phosphorous acidwith the urea, the reaction system may be heated in view of theendothermic reaction, which takes place. The reaction is accomplishedonce the blend is clear and colorless and liquid Urea Phosphite formedin the reaction vessel is ready for use without any further operation.

The urea to be used as a starting material in the reaction according tothe invention may be any urea form commercially available such asprills, crystals, or, diluted liquids. The phosphorous acid to be usedas a starting material in the reaction according to the invention may beany urea form commercially available such as crystals, or, dilutedliquids. Most preferably, however, urea in solid or crystal form ismixed with phosphorous acid in solid or crystal form. Example preferredreactants for making the Urea Phosphite composition of the invention isset forth in Table II below.

TABLE II Solubility Compound MW MP (g/100 ml) Density Phosphorous acid82 73.6 309 1.651 Urea 60.06 135 100 1.32

When the urea phosphite is for fertilizer or fungicide use, desiredmicronutrients such as Mg, Co, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, etc., may be incorporatedin the initial phosphorous acid prior to the reaction with the solidurea without interfering with the course of reaction. This is anadditional advantage where a reliable dosage of micronutrients is notpossible.

If desired to obtain compounds with a higher ratio of N:P or N:P:K forfertilizers, the urea phosphite may be transformed into prills by anadmix. It can also be used in various compound fertilizers.

A solid product of the invention may contain about 0.01% by weight(total solids) of Urea Phosphite that, by itself, will contribute about0.005% weight phosphorous as P₂O₅, and about 0.002% weight nitrogen asN. The liquid product can contain up to about 100% by weight of UreaPhosphite that would by itself contribute about 50% weight phosphorus asP₂O₅ and about 20% weight nitrogen as N.

Higher P or N assays can be achieved by the addition of phosphorussources or various nitrogen sources, such as urea, ammonium, or, nitratesources. In cases where Urea Phosphite is not the sole phosphorussource, other phosphates such as potassium phosphates' and ammoniumphosphates' can make up the balance.

In addition to the phosphorous and nitrogen content the blend mayinclude potassium. Similarly, it may be advantageous to include an admixdiscussed below.

Experiments

The invention may be further understood from the examples below.

EXAMPLE 1 White Crystal Sample—Sample 1

325 grams 70% phosphorous acid solution was blended with 175 grams ofurea and heated at temperatures greater then 100° C. where it becamefluid syrup. The exothermic reaction between the two reactants startedimmediately. The reaction mixture was removed from heat and allowed toproceed spontaneously. The reaction mixture became a non-transparentfluid syrup that expelled gas and bubbled from which crystallinematerial resulted as the reaction cooled.

Because of the faint smell of ammonia, it is my belief some of the ureadecomposed and products other than urea phosphite may have also beenformed.

EXAMPLE 2 Sample 2

For a mole ratio of 1:1 (phosphorous acid: urea), 57 grams phosphorousacid crystals were blended with 45 grams urea mini-pills and stirred at80° C. in a covered container for 1 hour. The blend of 2 solids produceda clear, colorless liquid urea phosphite. The liquid is stable uponheating to 90° C. or cooling to 0° C. the solution has a fertilizervalue of 20% N and 50% P₂O₅.

EXAMPLE 3

55 grams Phosphorous acid crystals were blended with 42 grams urea pillsand stirred in a covered container. The blend of 2 solids produced aclear, colorless liquid Urea Phosphite. The liquid is stable uponheating to 90° C. or cooling to 0° C.

EXAMPLE 4

For a mole ratio of 1:2 (phosphorous acid: urea), 55 grams phosphorousacid crystals were blended with 84 grams urea pills and stirred in acovered container. The blend of 2 solids heated to temperatures greaterthen the melting point of the phosphorous acid (73° C.) and stirred; aclear, colorless liquid Urea Phosphite was formed. The liquid is stableupon heating to 90° C. and crystals formed upon cooling.

EXAMPLE 5

Diammonium phosphate crystals and monopotassium phosphate crystals wereblended with Urea Phosphite liquid to produce a free flowing dry solubleproduct.

EXAMPLE 6 Sample 3

For a mole ratio of 2:1 (phosphorous acid: urea), 73 grams phosphorousacid crystals were blended with 27 grams urea pills and stirred in acovered container. The blend of 2 solids produced a clear, colorlessliquid Urea Phosphite.

EXAMPLE 7

For a mole ratio of 1:1 (phosphorous acid: urea), 114 grams phosphorousacid crystals were blended with 86 grams urea pills and stirred at 80°C. in a covered container for 1 hour. The blend of 2 solids produced aclear, colorless liquid Urea Phosphite. From this 50 g of the UreaPhosphite was blended with 100 ml of water and 30 grams of calciumnitrate was added. The blend produced a clear 8-14-0, 3% Ca liquidfertilizer or fungicide with soluble phosphorus, nitrogen and calciumavailable for plant nutrition. Although the calcium was not chelated,the calcium did not precipitate in the presence of the phosphoruscompound.

EXAMPLE 8

50 g of Urea Phosphite liquid was blended with 100 ml of water and 30grams of magnesium nitrate was added. The blend produced a clear 7-14-0,2.7% Mg liquid fertilizer or fungicide with soluble phosphorus, nitrogenand magnesium available for plant nutrition. Although the magnesium wasnot chelated, the magnesium did not precipitate in the presence of thephosphorus compound.

Discussion of Possible Components for Admixes:

For their practical application, the Urea Phosphite compound accordingto this invention is rarely used on its own. Instead it generally formspart of formulations which also comprise a support and/or a surfactantin addition to active materials.

In the context of the invention, a support is an organic or mineral,natural or synthetic material with which the active material isassociated to facilitate its application, for example, in the case offertilizer and fungicides, to the plant, to seeds or to soil, or tofacilitate its transportation or handling. The support can be solid(e.g, clays, natural or synthetic silicates, resins, waxes, solidfertilizer and fungicides) or fluid (e.g., water, alcohols, ketones,petroleum fractions, chlorinated hydrocarbons, liquefied gases, liquidfertilizer and fungicides).

The surfactant can be an ionic or non-ionic emulsifier, dispersant orwetting agent, such as, for example, salts of polyacrylic acids andlignin-sulphonic acids, condensates of ethylene oxide with fattyalcohols, fatty acids or fatty amines.

The compositions comprising the compounds of the present invention canbe prepared in the form of wettable powders, soluble powders, dustingpowders, granulates, solutions, emulsifiable concentrates, emulsions,suspended concentrates and aerosols.

The wettable powders according to the invention can be prepared in sucha way that they contain the active material, and they often or typicallycontain, in addition to a solid support, a wetting agent, a dispersantand, when necessary, one or more stabilizers and/or other additives,such as, for example, penetration agents, adhesives or anti-lumpingagents, colorants etc.

Aqueous dispersions and emulsions, such as, for example, compositionscomprising the compounds of this invention obtained by diluting withwater a wettable powder or an emulsifiable concentrate are also includedwithin the general scope of the invention. These emulsions can be of thewater-in-oil type or of the oil-in-water type, and can have a thickconsistency resembling that of a “mayonnaise”.

The compositions comprising the compounds of the present invention cancontain other ingredients, for example protective colloids, adhesives orthickeners, thixotropic agents, stabilizers or sequestrants, as well asother active materials. A modest list of examples of possibleformulation components for inclusion with the compositions of thisinvention follows without limitation.

Carbon Skeleton/Energy (CSE) Components:

The supposed function of this component is to supply carbon skeleton forsynthesis of proteins and other molecules or to supply energy formetabolism. Water-soluble carbohydrates such as sucrose, fructose,glucose and other di- and monosaccharides are suitable, commonly in theform of molasses or other by-products of food manufacture. Commerciallyavailable lignosulfonates, discussed below under the heading “ComplexingAgents,” are also suitable as a CSE source inasmuch as they commonlycontain sugars.

CSE Components:

Sugar--mannose, lactose, dextrose, erythrose, fructose, fucose,galactose, glucose, gulose, maltose, polysaccharide, raffinose, ribose,ribulose, rutinose, saccharose, stachyose, trehalose, xylose, xylulose,adonose, amylose, arabinose, fructose phosphate, fucose-p, galactose-p,glucose-p, lactose-p, maltose-p, mannose-p, ribose-p, ribulose-p,xylose-p, xylulose-p, deoxyribose, corn steep liquor, whey, corn sugar,corn syrup, maple syrup, grape sugar, grape syrup, beet sugar, sorghummolasses, cane molasses, mineral salts lignosulfonate sugaralcohol--adonitol, galactitol, glucitol, maltitol, mannitol, mannitol-p,ribitol, sorbitol, sorbitol-p, xylitol xxxx acids--glucuronic acid,a-ketoglutaric acid, galacturonic acid, glutaric acid, gluconic acid,pyruvic acid, poly galacturonic acid, saccharic acid, citric acid,succinic acid, malic acid, oxaloacetic acid, aspartic acid,phosphoglyceric acid, fulvic acid, ulmic acid, humic acid, glutamicacid.

Nucleotides and bases--adenosine, adenosine-p, adenosine-p-glucose,uridine, uridine-p, uridine-p-glucose, thymine, thymine-p, cytosine,cytosine-p, guanosine, guanosine-p, guanosine-p-glucose, guanine,guanine-p, NADPH, NADH, FMN, FADH

The Macronutrient Components:

The macronutrients are essential to nutrition and growth. The mostimportant macronutrients are N, P and K. Some example nitrogen compoundsare: ammonium nitrate, monoammonium phosphate, ammonium phosphatesulfate, ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphatenitrate, diammoniumphosphate, ammoniated single superphosphate, ammoniated triplesuperphosphate, nitric phosphates, ammonium chloride, aqua ammonia,ammonia-ammonium nitrate solutions, mineral salts ammonium nitrate,mineral salts nitrate, mineral salts Cyanamid, sodium nitrate, urea,urea-formaldehyde, urea-ammonium nitrate solution, nitrate of sodapotash, potassium nitrate, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids.

Examples of Phosphate sources include: superphosphate (single, doubleand/or triple), phosphoric acid, ammonium phosphate, ammonium phosphatesulfate, ammonium phosphate nitrate, diammonium phosphate, ammoniatedsingle superphosphate, ammoniated single superphosphate, ammoniatedtriple superphosphate, nitric phosphates, potassium pyrophosphates,sodium pyrophosphate, nucleic acid phosphates and phosphonic andphosphorous acid derivatives.

The potassium ion for example can be found in: potassium chloride,potassium sulfate, potassium gluconate, sulfate of potash magnesia,potassium carbonate, potassium acetate, potassium citrate, potassiumhydroxide, potassium manganate, potassium phosphate, potassiummolybdate, potassium thiosulfate, potassium zinc sulfate and the like.

Mineral salts sources include for example: mineral salts ammoniumnitrate, mineral salts nitrate, mineral salts Cyanamid, mineral saltsacetate, mineral salts acetylsalicylate, mineral salts borate, mineralsalts borogluconate, mineral salts carbonate, mineral salts chloride,mineral salts citrate, mineral salts ferrous citrate, mineral saltsglycerophosphate, mineral salts lactate, mineral salts oxide, mineralsalts pantothenate, mineral salts propionate, mineral salts saccharate,mineral salts sulfate, mineral salts tartrate and the like.

Magnesium can be found for example in: magnesium oxide, dolomite,magnesium acetate, magnesium benzoate, magnesium bisulfate, magnesiumborate, magnesium chloride, magnesium citrate, magnesium nitrate,magnesium phosphate, magnesium salicylate, magnesium sulfate.

Sulfur containing compounds include for example: ammonium sulfate,ammonium phosphate sulfate, mineral salts sulfate, potassium sulfate,magnesium sulfate, sulfuric acid, cobalt sulfate, copper sulfate, ferricsulfate, ferrous sulfate, sulfur, cysteine, methionine and elementalsulfur.

Micronutrient Components:

The most important micronutrients are or comprise: Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, B,Co, and Mo.

Vitamin/Cofactor Components:

The most important are folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid, nicotinicacid, riboflavin and thiamine and include for example:Thiamine--thiamine pyrophosphate, thiamine monophosphate, thiaminedisulfide, thiamine mononitrate, thiamine phosphoric acid esterchloride, thiamine phosphoric acid ester phosphate salt, thiamine 1,5salt, thiamine tri phosphoric acid ester, thiamine tri phosphoric acidsalt, yeast, yeast extract Riboflavin--riboflavin acetyl phosphate,flavin adenine dinucleotide, flavin adenine mononucleotide, riboflavinphosphate, yeast, yeast extract. Nicotinic acid--nicotinic acid adeninedinucleotide, nicotinic acid amide, nicotinic acid benzyl ester,nicotinic acid monoethanolamine salt, yeast, yeast extract, nicotinicacid hydrazide, nicotinic acid hydroxamate, nicotinicacid-N-(hydroxymethyl)amide, nicotinic acid methyl ester, nicotinic acidmononucleotide, nicotinic acid nitrile. Pyridoxine--pyridoxal phosphate,yeast, yeast extract Folic acid--yeast, yeast extract, folinic acid.Biotin--biotin sulfoxide, yeast, yeast extract, biotin 4-amidobenzoicacid, biotin amidocaproate N-hydroxysuccinimide ester, biotin6-amidoquinoline, biotin hydrazide, biotin methyl ester,d-biotin-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester, biotin-maleimide, d-biotinp-nitrophenyl ester, biotin propranolol, 5-(N-biotinyl)-3aminoallyl)-uridine 5′-triphosphate, biotinylated uridine5′-triphosphate, N-e-biotinyl-lysine. Pantothenic acid--yeast, yeastextract, coenzyme A, Cyanocobalamin--yeast, yeast extract.Phosphatidylcholine-soybean oil, eggs bovine heart, bovine brain, bovineliver, L-a-phosphatidylcholine, B-acetyl-g-O-alkyl,D-a-phosphatidylcholine(PTCn), B-acetyl-g-O-hexadecyl, DL-a-PTCh,B-acetyl-g-O-hexadecyl, L-a-PTCh, B-acetyl-g-O-(octadec-9-cis-enyl),L-a-PTCh, B-arachidonoyl, g-stearoyl, L-a-PTCh, diarachidoyl, L-a-PTCh,dibehenoyl (dibutyroyl, dicaproyl, dicapryloyl, didecanoyl, dielaidoyl,12 diheptadecanoyl, diheptanoyl), DL-a-PTCh dilauroyl, L-a-PTChdimyristoyl (dilauroyl, dilinoleoyl, dinonanoyl, dioleoyl,dipentadeconoyl, dipalmitoyl, distearoyl, diundecanoyl, divaleroyl,B-elaidoyl-a-palmitoyl, B-linoleoyl-a-palmitoyl) DL-a-PTChdi-O-hexadecyl (dioleoyl, dipalmitoyl, B-O-methyl-g-O-hexadecyl,B-oleoyl-g-O-hexadecyl, B-palmitoyl-g-O-hexadecyl), D-a-PTChdipalmitoyl, L-a-PTCh, B-O-methyl-g-O-octadecyl, L-a-PTCh,B-(NBD-aminohexanoyl)-g-palmitoyl, L-a-PTCh, B-oleoyl-g-O-palmitoyl(stearoyl), L-a-PTCh, B-palmitoyl-g-oleoyl, L-a-PTCh,B-palmitoyl-a-(pyren 1-yl) hexanoyl, L-a-PTCh,B(pyren-1-yl)-decanoyl-g-palmitoyl, L-a-PTCh,B-(pyren-1-yl)-hexanoyl-g-palmitoyl, L-a-PTCh, B-stearoyl-g-oleoyl.Inositol--inositol monophosphate, inositol macinate, myo-inositol,epi-inositol, myo-inositol 2,2′anhydro-2-c-hydroxymethyl(2-c-methylene-myoinositol oxide), D-myo-inositol 1,4-bisphosphate,DL-myo-inositol 1,2-cyclic monophosphate, myo-inositol dehydrogenase,myo-inositol hexanicotinate, inositol hexaphosphate, myo-inositolhexasulfate, myo-inositol 2-monophosphate, D-myo-inositol1-monophosphate, DL-myo-inositol 1-monophosphate, D-myo-inositoltriphosphate, scyllo-inositol PABA--m-aminobenzoic acid, O-aminobenzoicacid, p-aminobenzoic acid butyl ester, PABA ethyl ester, 3-ABA ethylester.

Complexing Agents:

The function of this component, particularly in agriculturalapplications, aside from its proposed use as a Carbon skeleton agent, isto solubilize other components of the composition which otherwise mayprecipitate and become assailable or may immobilize minerals in the soilwhich might otherwise be unavailable to flora and fauna. Complexingagents such as, for example, citric acid, humic acids, lignosulfonate,etc. serve to tie up ions such as iron and prevent them from formingprecipitates. In some cases this complexing is by way of chelation.These agents may form complexes with the following compounds forexample: Citric acid; Ca, K, Na and ammonium lignosulfonates, fulvicacid, ulmic acid, humic acid, Katy-J, EDTA,EDDA(ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid), EDDHA, HEDTA, CDTA, PTPA, NTA,MEA, IDS, EDDS, and 4-phenylbutyric acid.

Other complexing agents include for example: Al and its salts, Zn--zincoxide, zinc acetate, zinc benzoate, zinc chloride, zinc citrate, zincnitrate, zinc salicylate, ziram Fe--ferric chloride, ferric citrate,ferric fructose, ferric glycerophosphate, ferric nitrate, ferric oxide(saccharated), ferrous chloride, ferrous citrate ferrous fumarate,ferrous gluconate, ferrous succinate. Mn--manganese acetate, manganesechloride, manganese nitrate, manganese phosphate, Cu--cupric acetate,cupric butyrate, cupric chlorate, cupric chloride, cupric citrate,cupric gluconate, cupric glycollate, cupric nitrate, cupric salicylate,cuprous acetate, cuprous chloride. B--mineral salts borate, potassiumborohydride, borax, boron trioxide, potassium borotartrate, potassiumtetraborate, sodium borate, sodium borohydride, sodium tetraborate andboric acid. Mo--molybdic acid, mineral salts molybdate, potassiummolybdate, sodium molybdate. Co--cobaltic acetate, cobaltous acetate,cobaltous chloride, cobaltous oxalate, cobaltous potassium sulfate,cobaltous sulfate.

Growth Regulators:

Seaweed extract--kelp extract, Kinetin, Kinetin riboside, benzyladenine,zeatin riboside, zeatin, extract of corn cockle, isopentenyl adenine,dihydrozeatin, indoleacetic acid, phenylacetic acid, IBA, indoleethanol, indole acetaldehyde, indoleacetonitrile, indole derivitives,gibberellins (e.g. GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA7, GA38 etc.) polyamines,monoethanolamine, allopurinol, GA inhibitors, ethylene inducingcompounds, ethylene biosynthesis inhibitors, GABA, anticytokinins andantiauxins, ABA inducers and inhibitors, and other known growthregulators.

Gum Components:

Xanthan gum--guar gum, gum agar, gum accroides, gum arabic, gumcarrageenan, gum damar, gum elemi, gum ghatti, gum guaiac, gum karya,locust bean gum, gum mastic, gum pontianak, gum rosin, gum storax, gumtragacanth

Microbialstats, Proprionic acid, Benzoic acid, Sorbic acid and Aminoacids.

Buffers

Phosphate buffer, formate or acetate buffer, AMP buffer, mineral saltstartrate, glycine buffer, phosphate citrate buffer, tris buffer, ECT.

If desired, a formulation or composition of the present invention mayalso include beneficial microorganisms. The compositions comprising thecompounds of the present invention thus defined may be applied to plantsby conventional methods including seed application techniques, as wellas foliar methods.

The foregoing description of the invention has been directed in primarypart to particular preferred embodiments in accordance with therequirements of the Patent Statutes and for purposes of explanation andillustration. It will be apparent, however, to those skilled in the artthat many modifications and changes in the specifically describedmethods may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit ofthe invention.

One non-limiting example of such a modification would be the combiningof an excess of one reactant to change the mole ratios in creating UreaPhosphite. Such a modification could be practiced by one of ordinaryskill in the art from the teachings herein, and such practice would bewithin the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Therefore, the invention is not restricted to the preferred embodimentsdescribed and illustrated but covers all modifications, which may fallwithin the scope of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A method for making a fertilizer comprising urea phosphite,comprising reacting together a urea compound and a phosphorous acidcompound without the addition of water, such that the fertilizercomprises urea phosphate having the effect of enhancing plant growthwhen applied to plant seed, plants, and/or soil in which plant seeds orplants are planted.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said reaction isconducted at a temperature ranging from about 15° C. and about 140° C.3. The method of claim 2 wherein the urea compound and the phosphorousacid compound are solids.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the reactionproduct is a non-hydrous liquid.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising blending or reacting the reaction product with an admix foragricultural use.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising spraydrying the blended product.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the admixis solid such that the fertilizer is dry and soluble.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the reaction is at room temperature.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the urea compound is selected from the group consistingof ureas, thioureas, phenylureas and other substituted ureas.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the urea and phosphorous acid compounds arereacted in a molar ratio of urea to phosphorous acid ranging from about2:1 to about 1:2.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the urea phosphiteis a pH buffer.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the urea phosphite isa solution pH modifier to enable solubility of mineral salts in thepresence of phosphorus compounds.